Saturday, August 25, 2007

Enhancing the Dark


Being of a race where people tend to judge a book merely by its cover, I must admit that the first impression that I had upon casting a glance at the black and red cover-sleeves of Adhar thrust into my hands by a patron of music, was not a very agreeable one. I thought to myself, another group of youngsters drenched in bloody tears, dressed in black rags, visiting grave yards on a weekly basis to define the so-called 'heavy metal' culture in Bangladesh? “I don't think I can deal with another one,” I smiled politely at the patron, hoping that he would not take it too hard since he seemed to like it very much. “You shall listen to it, right now, in my office,” he exclaimed to which I could do nothing but smile sheepishly, while looking for excuses to leave his office located on Elephant Road.

The very next second I realised I was wrong. Not only was I too soon in judging Adhar as one of those bands which tend to pop up every other day in the locality, but I was also wrong in assuming that the music would never appeal to me. In fact, Adhar's debut album Adhare Apshori, a G-series production, seemed to introduce me to several elements that I find absent in many of the younger, struggling bands today.

For one thing, I was struck by the band's innovativeness while listening to each track. Each number in the album defines a particular thought, emotion and even a particular genre. Each composition is marked as belonging to the types of rock fusion, east -- west R&B fusion, alternative, mellow, rock mellow, alter fusion and so on.

The band's experimentation in terms of fusing and mixing the different musical ingredients that many of us experience around us is apparent in the album. There is the aggression along with the smooth vocalising and harmonising in many of the numbers, not to mention the use of universal sounds like the flute, for instance, creating a pacifying bridge with the rock fusions or alternative numbers. I thought I also heard a little bit of sarcasm and wittiness gelled in compositions like Kaare Naeyna, where the pathos of a lover in pain would have a listener nod in agreement and at the same time laugh out loud at the use of colloquial jargon.

After listening to the album (recorded at NMN Adhar station) and understanding what Nopel (Vocals and Guitars), Nomon (Bass and Keys), Sohel (Drums and Percussions), Tomal (Supporting Vocals) tried to express through their music, the black and red cover-sleeves did make some sense to someone as vaguely connected to the world of the graphic designs as I am. The simple yet eye-cacthing shapes and motifs created by Nopel along with the photography done by Raju and Hira (Banglalok) identifies clearly with the compositions in the album, i.e., coming in terms with imperfections, which makes life absolutely perfect.

With Adhare, I could not help but envision a bunch of talented young people who have probably seen a lot on the streets of Dhaka, blending their shocking ideas to come out with something like Adhare Apshori.

Copyright (R) thedailystar.net 2007

Volume 6 Issue 15 | April 20, 2007 |

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